Forget the Necklaces: Iris Castillo’s Cosplay Confession Just Rewrote the Hunt for Love Love Triangle

Everyone knows Iris Castillo got two necklaces on night one. But in episode 2, the 90 Day: Hunt for Love newcomer dropped a confession nobody saw coming: she likes to dress like animals in the bedroom, she is “super into anime,” she cosplays at Comic Con — and she brought her costumes to Puerto Rico. Now the real question is not who wants Iris. It is: which man actually fits the real Iris — Team Steven or Team Michael?

The Woman Behind the Buzz

Iris, 29, is making her franchise debut this season after growing up in San Antonio, Texas, where she says her dating life was anything but lucky. “I wanted to do the show just because I wanted to put myself out there,” she told My San Antonio. “It’s something that I’ve never done before, and my dating history is not very large, so I just wanted to do something crazy.” As for the San Antonio dating scene she left behind: “It’s not like I was gonna have any luck on St. Mary’s Street.”

According to reports, off camera she works at a bar on the Bier Garten Riverwalk, is earning her master’s degree, and performs spoken word poetry in San Antonio. Brains, hustle, creativity — plus a playful side she shared on national television.

The 57-Year-Old Ex Problem

During the premiere, Iris told Michael her last relationship was with a man twice her age — she was 29, he was 57. She says she “steers clear of men in their 20s and 30s.” The catch? Almost the entire Hunt for Love cast is in their 20s and 30s.

That means neither suitor is her type on paper. So fans have started judging this triangle on a new metric: who matches the quirky, anime-loving, costume-packing woman she actually is?

Why Steven Fits Her Weird Side

Steven Frend, a 90 Day Fiancé season 6 alum, has locked his entire focus on Iris. “Iris is very mysterious in her own way… ‘You’re not easy to read,'” he said in the exclusive October 19 preview. “So it’s like, ‘Okay, I have to work for it.'”

But it is the lifestyle overlap that has fans buzzing. Iris revealed she has a sensory sensitivity to loud noise and is not into chaotic clubs — and Steven immediately related, admitting he is not a club person either. They bonded over the anime and manga fandom world too. Two homebodies who would rather talk cosplay than party? That is a connection built on something real. And Steven dates one person at a time — he says his mother’s 10 or 11 marriages made him dead serious about relationships.

Why Michael Might Fit Her Better

Do not count out Michael Ilesanmi. He connected with Iris instantly on premiere night — and they even bonded over the fact that both of them had been with partners much older than themselves. He gets her type in a way no one else in the house can claim.

According to TV Insider, though, their spark hit a bump: after night one, Michael asked Iris for “a peck,” she declined, and Iris reportedly found him a little too reserved for her taste. Was it just first-night nerves — or a sign they are on different wavelengths? And does Michael, the straightforward romantic, really get the cosplay side of her?

90 Day: Hunt for Love Season 2 airs Mondays at 8/7c on TLC and streams on Discovery+. So here is the new debate: forget the necklaces — which man fits the real Iris? Team Steven, the fandom soulmate who gets her quirks, or Team Michael, who understood her dating history from night one? Drop your verdict in the comments.